Kingston Book Store Deals With Internet Backlash

Rough Draft Bar & Books is located in Kingston at the historic Four Corners. It's a cleverly designed bar with a curated selection of books. A great concept and I'm sure a dream location for adult readers. They opened last Fall and have already garnered the attention of the nation with a photo displaying books.

The photo showed a table with books from various authors, the sign in the middle is what stirred up some trouble. "Writers From SH##THOLE Countries" is what was placed in the middle. Before you have an emotional response to that, take a deep breathe and keep reading.

This sign was actually in response to what President Trump reportedly using the word "shithole" to describe some African countries. Whether he actually said something like that is unknown to me but in the world we live in, it doesn't matter if it's true or not.

Rough Draft took offense to that possible remark from our president and decided to respond. What we have here is the perfect think tank for sarcasm. A business run by adult book enthusiasts combined with their love of wine can lead to some fascinating exchanges of ideas.

The list of writers displayed under the sign are well known throughout the world for their amazing work and are from some of these countries that may have been negatively referenced by Trump. I think it's a great use of sarcasm to metaphorically give the bird to Trump. That is exactly what I'd expect from a place like this, and for a while, the internet agreed! They received a lot of positive feedback for passively fighting back in support of these countries.

However, with the good also comes the bad. Too many internet users took offense to this photo and also let their voices be heard. Rough Draft acted right away by taking the sign down and publicly apologizing. You can see the new sign and apology on their facebook page.

If more people took the time to go beyond their initial reaction to anything, we as a nation might not get offended so easily. Try it next time, just be careful, you could end up laughing more. I know, it sounds like a nightmare. (see, that's sarcasm)